The New Source
by Anorin Xikian
Summary: (P/C) A totally alternate Season 5- we learn that The Source's powers didn't die with Cole. Soon, both Cole himself and The Source's powers return, only seperated. And when seperated from Cole....the powers go to the closest link. Phoebe, his wife.


The New Source: Chapter 1 

Author's Notes: I'm ba-aaaaa-ck! Yes, I've been gone for a while and I will be getting back to those other Charmed stories I left off. Blame it on Charmed Season 5- I have hated the way they have made Cole and Phoebe's characters act, especially reading some future spoilers. I'm a huge P/C fan, obviously, and it was S4 episodes on TNT that reminded me why I loved this show. So, this is my new story- it takes place after Season 4, only Witch Way Now never happened- and neither did all of Season 5, obviously. This story takes a bit of time to develop, but I think you'll find it to be very entertaining- providing you can put up with the re-writes of how The Source and his powers exist that were neccesary to the story. Anyway, we pick up roughly three weeks after they had to vanquish Cole, with a whole load of revelations:

  
_**It was three weeks after the Charmed Ones reunited to vanquish The Source. After they were forced to vanquish Phoebe's husband, they thought their ordeal with The Source was finally over. Little did they know, it was far from over....**_

  
Phoebe stood in the same cavern in The Underworld she once stood in when The Seer revealed to her that her husband had been given the essance of The Source. Standing next to her was the vanquised Seer.

"You should know that the powers of The Source don't just die." said The Seer. "They move onto the closest link."

"The closest link?" Phoebe asked her. "I don't understand."

"You will." The Seer laughed. "Believe me, you will."

  
Phoebe sat up in her bed, clutching her blanket as if it was a child's security blanket. Sweat dripped from her forehead, a cold sweat, as she went over to the edge of her bed. She picked up a glass of water and drank it, then stood up and walked weakly over to her door. Bright light instantly hit her, and she realized it was morning.

"Ugh, I feel like I have a monster hangover, but I was home studying." Phoebe said, holding her head as she walked towards the bathroom. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Morning!" Paige said cheerfully as she exited.

Then, she saw what Phoebe looked like.

"Awww, honey, you don't look so good." Paige said.

"I know, I've got a killer headache." Phoebe said.

"AHHHHH!"

That scream was Piper, and it was coming from downstairs. Without thinking, both sisters ran down the stairway, where they saw Piper backing away- from Cole, standing in the doorway.

"We vanquished you!" Paige screamed from the bottom of the stairway.

"That's what I thought too." Cole said, shrugging. "Trust me, this wasn't my doing. One moment, I was looking at the three of you vanquishing me, and the next, I was back in the apartment completley human."

"So you don't have The Source inside of you anymore?" Phoebe asked him, finally speaking up.

Cole shook his head.

"I did when I came back, but only for a brief moment." Cole said. "After that, a red orb of energy came out of my body and then disappered, which must have been The Source's essance. I'm completley human again."

Phoebe, at that moment, wanted to run over and kiss him at that moment, but knew that it could be a trick.

"So what could have happened to The Source's powers?" she asked him.

"I would assume they're gone for good." Cole said with a slight shrug. "My body somehow rejected them when we came back together and they disappered."

"When was this?" Piper asked him.

"Well, I'm not real sure on the time, but it was night, and now it's day, so I guess last night." Cole answered. "How long has it been, anyway?"

"Almost three weeks." Paige replied.

"Damn." Cole said. "Well, if you don't believe me, all we have to do is cast a spell to locate The Source's powers. Once we do, you'll find that they're not in me, and we'll find out if they're really gone."

"Good idea." Piper said.

"I think so too." Paige agreed.

Suddenly, Phoebe's eyes glowed red, then the red disappered. She shook her head, holding it, as if she was trying to figure out where she was.

"What do you think Phoebe?" Paige asked her. "Phoebe?"

"Are you okay?" Piper asked her.

After a few moments, Phoebe rose.

"I'm fine." Phoebe said quickly. "Listen, you probably won't need the Power of Three for this spell, so I think I'm going to go into my bedroom and lay down for a little while. My head really hurts."

Phoebe turned and walked up the stairway to her room as Piper and Paige looked on.

"Well, let's head up to the attic and cast that spell." Paige said.

Piper and Cole nodded and they went up the stairs as well.

  
Phoebe watched through the crack in her door as Piper, Paige, and Cole walked up the stairs, and then up into the attic. With a sly grin, she closed the door behind her and flamed out (the teleportation method used by The Source/Cole, remember?).

  
Phoebe flamed into the cavern in the Underworld that Cole flamed into when he was first possessed by The Source. She walked over to the throne chair and sat down in it, then snapped her fingers. Instantly, a huge uprising of flames appeared, that slowly took the shape of The Seer. Finally, the flames disappered, and The Seer was left there gasping for air.

"What's going on?" The Seer screamed. "I was....the baby.....how am I here?"

"Take a wild guess." Phoebe muttered.

"The Witch.....no." The Seer said, her eyes lighting up now as she realized the truth. "There's only one being strong enough to bring me back from a vanquish. That makes you The Source!"

"In the flesh." Phoebe muttered. "Well, sort of. Mind telling me how I came to be inside the Witch's body?"

"Give me a moment." The Seer said, closing her eyes.

After a few brief moments, her eyes were white when she re-opened them, with no pupils, and she spread the vision by sending out beams from her eyes that went into Phoebe's. She narrated what they were seeing (italics are her narration).

  
_The Source's essance- and thus, it's powers- cannot simply be vanquished by vanquishing the flesh host. It is evil itself, pure, it can't be destroyed so easily. When Cole was vanquished, the powers were temporarily taken along with him. However, the strength of The Source's powers brought them both back from vanquishing._

In a flash of fire, Cole appeared in the apartment at night just where he had been vanquished three weeks earlier. After a few seconds, a red orb flew out of his body and then disappered.

_But it made Cole himself stronger as well, allowing him to reject The Source's essance- and thus, his powers. The Source's powers and essance will automatically go to the next connection._

In the middle of that night, as Phoebe was sleeping, the red orb appeared hovering over her. After a few brief moments, it flew into her body.

_The Witch had dreams of me because the evil was penetrating her system. However, a Witch is much stronger than a powerless Human, and will be much tougher for you to penetrate. Rather than completley taking over the host body, as you did with Cole, you will only be able to control the body for short spurts. Then, the Witch will regain control, and the cycle will repeat itself. Be aware, however, that since you are now in her system, the two of you will be completley aware of what the other is doing while they're in control._

  
The white light in The Seer's eyes disappered, and Phoebe looked down at her.

"You'll also find yourself unable to control your powers, my liege." The Seer said. "That is because the Witch is good, and a being that is half-good and half-evil cannot use evil powers, besides teleportation."

"Then the Witch will be unable to use her powers as well." Phoebe said.

She tried to make one of the Source Fireballs in her right hand, but it quickly flew out of control and went into a nearby wall.

"Well, you were right there." Phoebe said with a slight sigh. "This is the first time I've been in a host body with resistance in nearly three-hundred years. Ironically, that was also the last time my host body was of female origin."

"There is a solution, my liege, but it would require the cooperation of the Witch." The Seer said.

"Hmmmm..." Phoebe said, pondering all this. "Seer, can you tell how much longer I have before the Witch regains control of her body again?"

"Around two hours, I would guess." The Seer replied. "Why?"

"Is there any way I could communicate with her?" Phoebe asked her.

"I can do that for you." The Seer said. "Give me a moment."

Phoebe nodded.

_If I can't even use my powers, what is the use of being The Source?_ Phoebe thought. _I must convince the Witch of whatever The Seer's plan is before she regains control and goes running to her sisters!_

  
Meanwhile, in the attic, Piper and Phoebe had a row of candles set-up and a scry-board set-up as well.

"So how exactly is this going work?" Paige asked Piper.

She was sitting in the circle of candles, while Piper was holding a crystal over the board. Cole was standing in-between them.

"Well, you'll cast the spell, which will travel through Cole." Piper explained. "Since Cole was the last one to be possessed by The Source's essance, the spell has to go through him first, to pick up any remants of The Source's essance in him so it knows what to track for. Once it has, it will hit the crystal and that will show us where, if anywhere, The Source's essance currently is located."

"Great, let's get started." Paige said.

She concentrated and read from the spell.

"Show us what is unseen.  
Bring to us what cannot be found.  
Find the darkness inside humanity.  
And bring it out for all to see."

A bright light shot through Cole, which instantly turned dark on its way out, having absorbed the remnants of The Source's essance, and then hit Piper's crystal, turning it black. Piper attempted to scry for The Source's essance with it, but got nothing.

"It can't be found." Piper said.

"Guess it's gone for good after all!" Paige said happily.

"I have to tell Phoebe the good news." Cole said.

"Cole....I'm not so sure if that's such a good idea." Piper told him, grabbing on his left arm. "I mean, she might need some more time. She did just have to vanquish you."

"I've had that evil thing inside my body for so long." Cole told her. "I need to be with Phoebe....me, not The Source....I can't wait any longer!"

"Now, wait a second Cole, at least let me go in there first." Piper told him.

"Alright." Cole agreed. "But if you're not out in five minutes, I'm charging in there after you!"

Piper rolled her eyes before walking out of the attic and down the stairs.

  
Meanwhile, back in the Underworld, Phoebe (still with The Source in control) tapped her hands on her throne chair impatientley.

"Are you almost done yet?" Phoebe said angrily. "I don't have all day, literally!"

"Yes, my liege, I am." The Seer said.

She had been surronded by three different floating books, reading from them to try and figure out what to do, but now she knew. She waved her right hand and the books disappered, and in her right hand a red potion appeared. She walked up to Phoebe with it.

"Drink this." The Seer said. "It will allow the Witch's essance to temporarily come out of her body, and thus be able to communicate with us."

"Alright." Phoebe agreed. "But this had better work, otherwise I'm sending you back where you came from!"

She took the red potion out of her servant's hand and drank it quickly. After a few moments, a white light came out of her body, and took the form of Phoebe- dressed the same way, although she was obviously a spirit.

"Well, nice of you to join us, Witch." The Source (in Phoebe's body) said. "I have an interesting offer for you."

"I'm not interested!" Phoebe said quickly. "I heard everything you did, remember? The only offer I would want to accept would be for you to get the hell out of my body!"

"The only way I can leave this body is for the body to be vanquished." The Source said with a grin. "And with my energy depleted from bringing that useless Cole back with me already, it could take me up to 200 years to bring us back again."

"Then I'll vanquish us both for good!" Phoebe countered. "I'll find a way to die and kill you off as well, for good! I don't want to live as a vessel for The Source!"

"Dear, foolish Witch, the only way we know for The Source to be vanquished for good- along with its host body- requires an elabroate ritual that kills off all members of the host's family line, past and present." The Seer laughed. "We wouldn't want to end the entire Halliwell line, now would we? Including our precious little sisters, of course."

Phoebe stopped, not having an answer to that. After a few moments, she spoke.

"So tell me what your offer is." she said quietly.

"We want to merge your essances!" The Seer said. "Take your essance and The Source's and make them into one using a ritual. You would be complete instead of seperated, strong instead of weak.....instead of being two, you would be ONE!"

"Combine our essances?" Phoebe asked quietly. "But wouldn't The Source's be the primary one, since he's stronger?"

"Yes, but you're essance would still be in there as well." The Source replied. "We'd be evil, but you could prevent me from doing certain things I could go up and do right now with my time remaining."

"Like?" Phoebe asked her/it.

"Like killing both of your sisters and your beloved Cole!" The Source spat.

"You don't even have any powers!" Phoebe yelled.

"I may not, but I still can't be vanquished without the Power of Three, and since your Witch powers don't work either while we're seperated, I couldn't say the spell on myself if I wanted to!" The Source laughed. "I'm sure if I snuck up behind one of them with a knife, I could get one....especially the human, Cole, that you love so much....before they find a way to stop me..."

"NO!" Phoebe screamed, and lunged at The Source that now inhabited her body, but being a spirit she went right through.

"Nice try." The Source laughed. "So, you really do have a choice here, Phoebe. You can accept this offer, right now, merge our essances into one and allow me to take my rightful throne again while you prevent me from splattering the blood of the ones you love, or I can suck you back into me and you can watch as I use the hour or so left to slit Cole's throat!"

Phoebe hung her head as she walked back through The Source and to The Seer.

"Fine." Phoebe said. "I'll do it, to protect Cole and my sisters. I don't have any other choice."

"I suppose you don't." The Source said with a sly grin, twisting Phoebe's face into a very un-Phoebe-like facial expression. "Well, let's get on with this then."

The Seer nodded and walked towards them, in-between them.

  
Meanwhile, Piper banged on Phoebe's door, and tried to open it, but soon realized it was locked.

"PHOEBE!" she shouted. "Phoebe, are you alright in there?"

_What could be wrong with her?_ Piper wondered.

  
The Seer placed her hand in-between the out-stretched hands of The Source in Phoebe's body and Phoebe's essance manifested as a spirit. She spoke in some strange tounge and both of them started to glow black.

"What?" The Soucre soon screamed. "I'm losing my......UGH!.....You have double-crossed me Seer!"

"That I have." The Seer said with a sly grin.

Phoebe's essance returned to her body, which glowed with a dark light, and Phoebe collapsed into her throne. After a few moments, her eyes opened, and instantly became black as the flame that signified The Source's powers appeared in them.

"I see you have woke up." The Seer said. "Much faster than I expected."

Phoebe leaned up in her chair before looking around.

"You double-crossed The Source." Phoebe said. "I don't feel him at all.....I just feel his power, his strength....I can understand why he was so cocky! It's....it's indescriable! But I also feel...."

"His evil." The Seer laughed. "I have, for all intents and purposes, vanquished The Source. Rather than combining your essances, I did away with his, and took his powers, which are evil by themselves. Now, Phoebe, you are the same Phoebe you always were, no old Source inside your body or combined with your essance- except, you are now the most powerful evil ever to exist. You are...."

"The New Source." Phoebe said, standing up.

She was finally starting to realize just how much power she had. With an evil grin, a Source fireball appeared in her right hand. With complete control, she tossed it at an exact part of the opposite cave wall, shattering it into pieces.

"The power is unbelievable." Phoebe said again. "Why did you do this? Why give it to me, instead of the old Source?"

"The old Source had been around for too long, he had grown far too cocky to be an effective ruler!" The Seer said. "His releasing The Hollow, which threatened us all, was the final straw! You, my new liege, will be a much more effective Source, because you have good in you."

"How will that make me a more effective Source?" Phoebe asked her.

"Because you have compassion and love." The Seer replied. "You will have something out there to fight for, rather than just for yourself. That will keep you from taking unneccesary risks, as the former Source did often."

Phoebe nodded.

"What are you going to do now?" The Seer asked her.

"I'm going to see my husband." Phoebe told her. "Wait for me. I'll be back."

"We have much work to do, my liege, I would-"

"And I said that I'll be back." Phoebe said. "I'll take control of the Underworld soon enough, don't worry about it. But for now.....I'm going to see my husband. I'll be back Seer, I promise."

Phoebe winked at her before flaming out.

And as soon as she did, The Seer's former look of annoyance was replaced by an evil smile.

_All is going according to plan._ The Seer thought.

  
Phoebe flamed back into her room just as Piper and Paige were about to knock the door down.

"PHOEBE!" Piper screamed.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Phoebe said. "Stop with the screaming!"

Phoebe unlocked her door and Piper and Paige almost fell through it.

"What the hell were you doing all that time?" Piper asked her.

"Uh.....sleeping." Phoebe said.

"Through THAT?!?" Paige said in disbelief.

"Well, I did say I was sick, right?" Phoebe said, her memory a bit fuzzy from when the old Source first took over.

"Yeah." Piper said. "Well, anyway, Cole wants to see you, and-"

"Cole!" Phoebe said, running past her sisters to the attic stairs.

"Wait a second!" Paige said, grabbing her by the shoulder. "What if Cole is lying and somehow masking the fact that he's really still The Source?"

"You don't have to worry about that." Phoebe said, trying her best to hold back a knowing grin.

"How do you know that?" Piper asked her.

"I just....know." Phoebe said, growing annoyed. "Come on, I want to go see him!"

"Don't you think you're rushing things a bit?" Piper asked her as she went to walk away again.

Phoebe stopped, not even turning around to face her older sister.

"I want to see Cole....my husband....the REAL Cole....now." Phoebe said. "I've waited long enough, considering how long I've been greeted by a pretender."

Phoebe continued walking as Piper and Paige looked on in disbelief.

"What's gotten into her?" Paige wondered.

  
Cole paced back and forth in the attic, trying to decide whether he should make good on his threat to bust into Phoebe's room- when Phoebe entered.

"Phoebe!" Cole said. "Listen, there's so much I want to talk to you about."

Phoebe walked over towards him.

"I want to talk to you about what happened, and about our future- if we have a future- and about what we can do to-"

But Cole was cut off by Phoebe's lips on his. After a brief moment, he pulled her away, holding her in front of him.

"Woah, don't you think we're going too fast here?" Cole asked her.

"No." Phoebe said simply. "I'm tired of waiting around and being afraid and angsty. I love you, Cole. It's the kind of love that transcends good and evil, we should know that by now. I know that you're really you again, and I'd be willing to go to the end of the Earth to find you, because I love you."

Phoebe and Cole kissed again, and then hugged. However, as they embraced with her head on his shoulder, facing the other way, Phoebe's eyes appeared black- and the flame of The Source appeared in them.

  
_**To Be Continued.....**_

  
Author's Notes: Well, please review the first chapter, I did a lot of hard work on it, and let me know if you want me to continue and also any holes in my logic so I can reply and possiably correct them! Thanks!


End file.
